Long intro,
Many years ago, about 35, and afar away if yo were in teh 1800s, my mother used to bake raisin bread and spritz cookies and send them to each of my brothers and sister.
She passed away in 1981 of Ovarian Cancer, and for a couple of years I missed the Holiday Package (Avoiding Christmas a s a religious topic).
One year, around 1983 while raising children of my own, I ran across her cook book (she wrote one to chronicle family recipes) and decided to start baking the goodies I remembered from childhood.
For the past 30+ years I have baked raisin bread and cookies and shipped them to my siblings and friends.
This year I will probably bake 36 or more loaves of Raisin Bread and at least 10 dozen cookies, which I will give away.
Does any one else have family recipes which they cook at the holiday times and give away?
BREAD
* * *
"Of course I'll gladly give de rule
I mek beat biscuits by
Dough I ain't sure dat you will mek
Dat bread the same as I
'Case cookin's like religion is-
Some's 'lected, and some ain't
An rules don't more mek a cook
Den sermons mek a Saint".
--Wheeten
The actual poem is by Miss Howard Weeden in the book Bandanna Ballads.
Many years ago, about 35, and afar away if yo were in teh 1800s, my mother used to bake raisin bread and spritz cookies and send them to each of my brothers and sister.
She passed away in 1981 of Ovarian Cancer, and for a couple of years I missed the Holiday Package (Avoiding Christmas a s a religious topic).
One year, around 1983 while raising children of my own, I ran across her cook book (she wrote one to chronicle family recipes) and decided to start baking the goodies I remembered from childhood.
For the past 30+ years I have baked raisin bread and cookies and shipped them to my siblings and friends.
This year I will probably bake 36 or more loaves of Raisin Bread and at least 10 dozen cookies, which I will give away.
Does any one else have family recipes which they cook at the holiday times and give away?
BREAD
* * *
"Of course I'll gladly give de rule
I mek beat biscuits by
Dough I ain't sure dat you will mek
Dat bread the same as I
'Case cookin's like religion is-
Some's 'lected, and some ain't
An rules don't more mek a cook
Den sermons mek a Saint".
--Wheeten
The actual poem is by Miss Howard Weeden in the book Bandanna Ballads.
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Put me on your list for sending out some raisin bread please 😀
Can we move ths to the group buy ? I wish!
Great idea but I admit I didn't have such a tradition myself.
Can we move ths to the group buy ? I wish!
Great idea but I admit I didn't have such a tradition myself.
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I don't have any children.
I work (wash pots & pans) a charity dinner for the walk ins in the downtown of our city. Last year we did Saturday after Christmas, this year, the 17th. It's in the fellowship hall of a nice church down there.
While they are eating, I play Christmas music on the Baldwin Acrosonic piano on stage. Both secular and religious, although they have only applauded Jingle Bells, Holly Jolly Christmas, and Blue Christmas. Their memories of elementary school I suppose, or pop radio.
My Mother used to bake, too. I miss her. Many of the fifties pop piano arrangements I play I inherited from her. I used to send my brother nicer nuts, but he broke a tooth so I suppose it will be decorations this year.
I work (wash pots & pans) a charity dinner for the walk ins in the downtown of our city. Last year we did Saturday after Christmas, this year, the 17th. It's in the fellowship hall of a nice church down there.
While they are eating, I play Christmas music on the Baldwin Acrosonic piano on stage. Both secular and religious, although they have only applauded Jingle Bells, Holly Jolly Christmas, and Blue Christmas. Their memories of elementary school I suppose, or pop radio.
My Mother used to bake, too. I miss her. Many of the fifties pop piano arrangements I play I inherited from her. I used to send my brother nicer nuts, but he broke a tooth so I suppose it will be decorations this year.
Any Germans in your family?
My mother regularly makes raisin bread and Spritzgebäck when I was a kid.
She still makes the raisin bread and regular sourdough bread. Cookies not so much...
My grandfather was a butcher in Frackville PA turn of the century (1900). My understanding is we are English-Scots-Irish with a French name.
The Frackville / Pottstown area is part of the Pennsylvania Dutch area. Pennsylvania Dutch is more of a Southern Germany dutch rather than Netherlander dutch.
Our families melded a lot of English/french/dutch styles together.
I recently determines that my father (past five years ago) had a favorite Christmas cookie that my mother was never able to duplicate despite her great culinary expertise. I remember him talking about a gingerbread tasting cookie with sugared fruit in it. My mother made fruitcake cookies, but they were not what he remembered.
While recently in Germany I bought some Winternatcht Leibkutchen and realized that this is what my father had liked.
So I have started making them as well. I wish I could have made some for my dad.
The Frackville / Pottstown area is part of the Pennsylvania Dutch area. Pennsylvania Dutch is more of a Southern Germany dutch rather than Netherlander dutch.
Our families melded a lot of English/french/dutch styles together.
I recently determines that my father (past five years ago) had a favorite Christmas cookie that my mother was never able to duplicate despite her great culinary expertise. I remember him talking about a gingerbread tasting cookie with sugared fruit in it. My mother made fruitcake cookies, but they were not what he remembered.
While recently in Germany I bought some Winternatcht Leibkutchen and realized that this is what my father had liked.
So I have started making them as well. I wish I could have made some for my dad.
So more 'deutsch' than 'dutch'. ;-)
I always wondered why the english language describes things from the Nederlands as 'dutch' and things from Deutschland as 'german'.
Creates room for confusion.
Either way I see you found Lebkuchen!
I just got a parcel from my mum full of Nürnberger Lebkuchen (she didn't make them though) so together with a Stollen and some Spekulatius (highly spiced biscuits) we are all set for the junk food side of christmas.
The main dish will most likely be the traditional* goose but that has to wait a bit because I'm not going to buy a frozen one.
*traditional to me as a German. The others here think Christmas = Turkey... until they try a goose!
Interesting....... being Dutch myself, could you please explain these definitions of the various forms of Dutch, for I'm intriqued? 😉
Living in The Netherlands and having visited Germany a lot of times, my perception of Dutch and German languages appears to be quite different.
In the meantime: Merry Christmas you all!
As a German I find Dutch and German to be quite similar.
But then I was born only a couple of miles from the dutch border and my dad, being able to speak plattdeutsch, could pass himself off as being from Groningen to any dutch person.
I struggle with any german dialect from south of Frankfurt/M. Bavarian might as well be a foreign language to me.
But then I was born only a couple of miles from the dutch border and my dad, being able to speak plattdeutsch, could pass himself off as being from Groningen to any dutch person.
I struggle with any german dialect from south of Frankfurt/M. Bavarian might as well be a foreign language to me.
esgigt,
I'm not so sure myself about the distinction. I suspect it has to do with the religious reformation period in western Europe and the migration of Germanic people to the USA. I further suspect it has to do with illiteracy during a lot of the migrations and spelling by the immigration officials. Many people had the spelling of their names changed at Ellis island. It would not be far fetched to see "Deutch" changed to "Dutch". (In fact, Spell check tries to change it so!) I don't wish to get into the religious aspect of this but view it as a migration similar to the Irish migration during the Potato Famine.
That said, I remember visiting relatives in what is known as the Pennsylvania Dutch region of the USA as a child and the foods were distinctively German. German sausage, German bread, etc. Towns with German names and businesses with decisively German influence.
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My traditional Christmas Dinner is Standing Rib Roast with Yorkshire Pudding, mashed potatoes, peas & onions, and yeast rolls, with a massive amount of gravy.
Your basic Heart Attack on a plate.
Standing rib roast was on sale at Food City for $6.99/Lb. I bought a small one at 6.15# (2.79KG).
I'll dust it with black pepper, Garlic salt and flour, then roast it at 425F for 30 minutes and drop the temp to 325F until it reaches 155F internal.
Leftovers will become Beef pot Pie and Beef vegetable soup.
The drippings will be used to make gravy and the Yorkshire pudding.
I'm not so sure myself about the distinction. I suspect it has to do with the religious reformation period in western Europe and the migration of Germanic people to the USA. I further suspect it has to do with illiteracy during a lot of the migrations and spelling by the immigration officials. Many people had the spelling of their names changed at Ellis island. It would not be far fetched to see "Deutch" changed to "Dutch". (In fact, Spell check tries to change it so!) I don't wish to get into the religious aspect of this but view it as a migration similar to the Irish migration during the Potato Famine.
That said, I remember visiting relatives in what is known as the Pennsylvania Dutch region of the USA as a child and the foods were distinctively German. German sausage, German bread, etc. Towns with German names and businesses with decisively German influence.
-------
My traditional Christmas Dinner is Standing Rib Roast with Yorkshire Pudding, mashed potatoes, peas & onions, and yeast rolls, with a massive amount of gravy.
Your basic Heart Attack on a plate.
Standing rib roast was on sale at Food City for $6.99/Lb. I bought a small one at 6.15# (2.79KG).
I'll dust it with black pepper, Garlic salt and flour, then roast it at 425F for 30 minutes and drop the temp to 325F until it reaches 155F internal.
Leftovers will become Beef pot Pie and Beef vegetable soup.
The drippings will be used to make gravy and the Yorkshire pudding.
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Hi Gimp (?),
I guess what we've forgotten is that Dutch and German communities in the USA over the decenia have evolved in a different way than the communities they left behind in Europe. So it's quite interesting to see the results of those developments. They actually formed new communities from the point of language and culture which changed under influence of other cultural communities. Fact is, a lot of people (including me) haven't got a clue about the variation in local cultures in the USA. So every opportunity to learn something is welcome 😉
Merry Christmas,
Edwin
Up until WW I the communities in many areas remained isolated with their own school which taught in German.
WW I resulted in the greatest changes in the culture as most considered themselves to be Americans first with retained German culture. Anti-German sentiment in the USA during WW I resulted in many American people of German decent abandoning their native language and switching to English. Customs were abandoned in an effort to avoid being ostracized, as well as due to their "American First" attitude.
One example of the traditions which went into decline was the Schutzenfest. These were rifle competitions which were held in German centers throughout the USA. They were very popular during the mid 1800s up until the outbreak of WW I.
Harry Pope (New Jersey) and George Schalk (Pottstown PA) were famous rifle smiths in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The rifles they made were specifically designed for Schutzenfest 200 yard competition.
WW I resulted in the greatest changes in the culture as most considered themselves to be Americans first with retained German culture. Anti-German sentiment in the USA during WW I resulted in many American people of German decent abandoning their native language and switching to English. Customs were abandoned in an effort to avoid being ostracized, as well as due to their "American First" attitude.
One example of the traditions which went into decline was the Schutzenfest. These were rifle competitions which were held in German centers throughout the USA. They were very popular during the mid 1800s up until the outbreak of WW I.
Harry Pope (New Jersey) and George Schalk (Pottstown PA) were famous rifle smiths in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The rifles they made were specifically designed for Schutzenfest 200 yard competition.
Ok... never knew that... But I understand the attitude of the people towwards their "old culture" with regard to the country they lived in and the general anti-german sentiment in those days.
Unfortunately I can't comment on the current Schutzenfest traditions. I know in some parts of the Netherlands it still exists. I guess it nowadays is bigger in Germany.
😀
I am a native German speaker, but it's almost the same for me: Having someone aged 50 or above from Bavaria on the phone means I recognize some kind of German, but do not understand the meaning at all...
Have a nice Christmas,
Rundmaus
ha ha ha....
I completely understand... traveling from Germany to Switzerland (German speaking part) sometimes looks like intergalactic travel 😀
A nice Cristmas to you too!
My family is mostly Dutch / NW German. Most of my relatives who were born or emigrated here lived and died in the darkest areas on this map.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch...us_Bureau_Dutch_in_the_United_States_2000.png
Our family traditions for Xmas are mostly americanized - Oyster stew for Christmas Eve and sort of a repeat of the Thanksgiving meal for Christmas. We ate a lot of lake fish when I was young and my mother would make fried balls of bread occasionally during a fish fry, although ours usually didn't have fruit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliebol
Fotzenhobel, the bavarian word for a harmonica, is always good for giggles and embarrassment in other parts of Germany.
Die Gans ist gegessen und Morgen kommt der Kater also:
Frohe Weihnachten und 'nen guten Rutsch!
When I was a kid the typical Christmas fare was:
baccala, or dried salted cod, on Christmas Eve, as my parents were religious enough to follow old rules such as no meat on Christmas Eve, but my mom would be likely to muck up the dish as it took a lot of work to wash out the salt.
Christmas day fare would typically be up to 3 courses, a soup course, a pasta course, and a lamb course with potatoes and green salad. I think this is pretty typical for the mezzogiorno part of Italy. Usually excellent.
Unfortunately all of mom's recipes died with her as I was too lazy to learn them, and she got too weak to cook before I met my wife who would've learned them.
This year my wife made biscotti and tiramisu for Christmas, a great treat, but neither traditional for me as my mom never made them
baccala, or dried salted cod, on Christmas Eve, as my parents were religious enough to follow old rules such as no meat on Christmas Eve, but my mom would be likely to muck up the dish as it took a lot of work to wash out the salt.
Christmas day fare would typically be up to 3 courses, a soup course, a pasta course, and a lamb course with potatoes and green salad. I think this is pretty typical for the mezzogiorno part of Italy. Usually excellent.
Unfortunately all of mom's recipes died with her as I was too lazy to learn them, and she got too weak to cook before I met my wife who would've learned them.
This year my wife made biscotti and tiramisu for Christmas, a great treat, but neither traditional for me as my mom never made them
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